New-York: Published by Collins and Hannay, 1833. First edition. 8vo. 249 pp. Full speckled tan sheep, brown morocco spine label, stamped in gilt, front and rear boards starting, rubbing along extremities, loss in upper spine, soiling to boards; all edges trimmed; gift inscription, dated 1973, on front paste-down; ownership signature in pencil on front free endpaper, bookseller's ticket at bottom of same; toning along edges of most leaves; scattered minor spotting. Sabin 21115

A scarce and early textbook on American constitutional jurisprudence. William Alexander Duer (1780-1858) was the son of Continental Congressman and financial speculator William Duer (1743-99), and studied law under Nathaniel Pendleton in New York. In 1802, he entered the bar, and formed a business partnership with Edward Livingston, then the mayor of New York City and a United States district attorney. From 1814-29 he served in the New York Assembly, representing Dutchess County and then Albany County. In 1821, Duer was appointed judge of the Supreme Court for the Third District, a position he held until 1829. That same year, he became president of Columbia College, where he greatly overhauled the institution's curriculum. The current volume, conceived as a textbook for common schools and academies, caught the attention of many prominent men, including John Marshall and James Madison, among others. In 1843, Duer published an enlarged version of this work entitled, Lectures on Constitutional Jurisprudence, which he revised in 1856.

Uncommon to auction, according to RBH, this is the first copy offered in over a century.